San Jose Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio running for Congress

In an odd turn of events no one could have predicted a few weeks ago, San Jose Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio filed papers to run for Congress against veteran Congressman Mike Honda.

It’s a move even Oliverio’s council colleagues didn’t see coming. But the District 6 councilman, who will be termed out this year, showed up on the county Registrar of Voters’ unofficial candidate list. According to the document, Oliverio pulled papers Friday to challenge Honda, D-San Jose, and paid $1,740 in filing fees.

Oliverio, who is usually very accessible to media, did not return multiple calls for comment Monday.

He joins a handful of other candidates vying to unseat Honda who’s held political office for the last 35 years, including front-runner Ro Khanna.

Despite losing President Barack Obama‘s endorsement, Honda last week won the California Democratic Party’s endorsement during its annual convention in San Jose.

Oliverio, who’s been in office nine years, denied rumors he would run for county supervisor or other political office. The animal-loving politician who works in high tech remained mum about his plans after he leaves the San Jose City Council.

The news of his potential run for California’s Congressional District 17 seat comes on the heels of backlash about his involvement with picking his successor on the council. Oliverio has asked District 6 candidates to vote on City Council agenda items and then posts the responses online. He’s also hosting three candidate forums later this year.

Oliverio, a Democrat, also faced criticism in recent years for his support of the Lincoln Avenue Road Diet in Willow Glen and was named in a sexual harassment lawsuit by a former staffer. Though Oliverio was later dropped from the suit, the city is still fending off the litigation.

Oliverio in 2014 made an unsuccessful run for mayor, finishing in fourth place behind Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors president Dave Cortese, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and former San Jose Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen.